The Giants Win the Series!: Headlines and Highlights of 1954

Contents

INTRODUCTION

1. BAD BALL

2. THOMSON TRADED

3. A NEW ACE

4. SIGNINGS

5. A TOUGH BREAK

6. BACK FROM THE ARMY

7. THOMSON BREAKS ANKLE

8. GIANTS’ OUTLOOK

9. TOUGHEST TEAM

10. SHOOTING FOR SIX

11. CHARLIE OUT

12. THE NEW MANAGER

13. COMPETING PITCHERS

14. 22-GAME SERIES

15. PHIL CAVARRETTA

16. DAVE KOSLO

17. SLAUGHTER TRADED

18. NO MORE BROWNS

19. ROOKIES

20. PREDICTIONS

21. THE INDIANS

22. THE WHITE SOX

23. SQUARING OFF

24. YANKEES LOSE OPENER

25. NEWCOMBE’S BACK

26. ORIOLES RETURN

27. DODGERS AT HOME

28. YANKEES AT HOME

29. ANTONELLI LOSES

30. A BLAST

31. REPEAT PERFORMANCE

32. YANKS ROUTED

33. PIRATES TAKE THREE

34. NO NO-HITTER

35. NO SOX LUCK

36. JACKIE GETS MAD

37. SHUTOUTS

38. SLUMPS AND INJURIES

39. A SPLIT

40. MAGLIE"S ENDURANCE

41. ONE-HITTERS

42. ALVIN DARK

43. MUSIAL HITS FIVE HOMERS

44. RASCHI BEATS GIANTS

45. CAMPY’S OUT

46. MARATHON

47. ROAD TRIP

48. WEEKEND SWEEP

49. WINNING WITHOUT HITS

50. NO COMEBACK

51. COMING FROM BEHIND

52. CONLEY, ADCOCK AND BURDETTE

53. ROBIN REPEATS

54. SIX STRAIGHT WINS

55. ERSKINE STARS

56. ANOTHER ONE-HITTER

57. TED THUMPS

58. TOP HURLERS

59. LOSING

60. AHEAD OF HIS TIME

61. PHILLIE KILLERS

62. FELLER MILESTONE

63. EXPLOSION

64. SCORING BIG

65. CLASSIC MATCH-UP

66. CLOSE RACE

67. LONG ROAD TRIP

68. DODGER NEWS

69. STAN THE MAN

70. AL ROSEN

71. MAY RECAP

72. MANTLE CAN’T BE STOPPED!

73. MYSTERY WALK

74. STRANGE BASEBALL

75. THOMPSON"S BIG DAY

76. LOPAT VS. LEMON

77. KEEGAN AND MINOSO

78. WINNING BASEBALL

79. COMING UP EIGHTS

80. MAYS BUNTS

81. ROBINSON LEADS

82. TEN IN A ROW!

83. A BAT WITH NAILS

84. CHICAGO ON TOP

85. DARK SPARKS

86. THE CAT AND THE KITTEN

87. AARON AND MAYS

88. TIED FOR FIRST

89. YANKEE PITCHING

90. STADIUM JINX?

91. THE ONLY NO-HITTER

92. DOUBLE SWEEPS

93. INDIANS DOMINATE

94. GIANTS LEAD

95. GIANTS PITCH – DODGERS SLUG

96. A WHITEY WHITEWASH WEEK

97. WINNING WITHOUT HITS

98. STRENGTH OF ROBERTS

99. HADDIX BLANKS GIANTS

100. HODGES ROCKS

101. YANKS FOUR BACK

102. PINCH-HIT HOMERS

103. REPEAT PERFORMANCE

104. AMAZING TRIBE

105. IRVIN BREAKS SLUMP

106. DODGERS CRUSHED

107. EMERGENCY!

108. KNIVES?

109. CRAZY GAME

110. THREE-TEAM RACE

111. MAYS TAKES THE LEAD

112. ANOTHER SWEEP

113. ANOTHER COMEBACK

114. TWO HOT TEAMS

115. NINE STRAIGHT FOR ALLIE

116. NOT SO FAST, YANKS

117. ONE STRIKE AWAY

118. GIANTS WON’T LOSE

119. JUNE RECAP

120. JUNE AROUND THE MAJORS

121. FOUR GAME LEAD

122. FIGHTING FOR FOURTH

123. MANTLE STARS

124. EIGHT STRAIGHT WINS

125. JUGGLING ACT

126. DOBY RIPS SOX

127. A PERFECT MILLIKEN

128. FADING SOX

129. GIANTS SPLIT FOUR

130. AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STARS

131. NATIONAL LEAGUE ALL-STARS

132. CRUISING

133. DODGERS KEEP PACE

134. YANKEES SWEEP

135. GLYNN HITS THREE HOMERS

136. SAL OWNS BROOKLYN

137. SAME THREE GUYS

138. GIANTS SWEEP DODGERS

139. VIRGIL TRUCKS

140. NOREN LEADS THE LEAGUE

141. WHITE SOX ARE ALIVE

142. EIGHT STRAIGHT FOR YANKS

143. A BLOWN GAME

144. DODGERS BAT AROUND

145. CHICAGO SWEEPS CLEVELAND

146. YANKEES MAKE IT CLOSE

147. MUELLER’S CYCLE

148. NO GROUND GAINED

149. RED SOX BLAST A’S

150. THE ALL-STAR GAME

151. LUCKY STONE

152. REPEAT PERFORMANCE

153. ALL ABOUT PITCHING

154. ON THE ROAD AGAIN

155. DODGER DISASTER

156. LARRY JANSEN RETIRES

157. A STRANGE GAME

158. CONLEY STANDS TALL

159. YANKEES KEEP WINNING

160. NECK AND NECK

161. YANKS WIN 13-STRAIGHT

162. MINOSO EXCELS

163. MEYER OWNS CUBS

164. HOT STUFF

165. A MISUNDERSTANDING

166. HARRY"S REVENGE

167. NOT PLAYING WELL

168. REYNOLDS AND RASCHI

169. TED AND RED SOX GAIN

170. A TIE GAME

171. RHODES IN CENTER

172. THE TWO CARLS

173. MANTLE WINS A GAME

174. FELLER AND LEMON

175. AMAZING STREAK ENDS

176. BRAVES SWEEP GIANTS

177. DODGERS GAIN

178. DOBY’S DRIVES

179. HARSHMAN FANS 16

180. BARBER NOT SHARP

181. STAN AND WALLY ARE HARDY

182. TRUCKS STOPS YANKS

183. LOU BOUDREAU

184. INDIANS OWN SOX

185. RHODES HITS THREE HOMERS

186. CLUTCH MANTLE DRIVE

187. SHUTOUT EXCHANGE

188. FINALLY

189. GOMEZ LOOKS GOOD

190. DON LARSEN

191. DOBY’S CATCH

192. BEST DAY EVER

193. CONTENDERS WIN

194. JULY RECAP

195. JULY AROUND THE MAJORS

196. ADCOCK BEANED

197. GIANTS SWEEP REDLEGS

198. TRIPLE DOUBLE

199. MOVING UP

200. WOJEY WINS WALKOFF

201. FORD STOPS TRIBE

202. PITCHERS’ NIGHT

203. COMING FROM BEHIND

204. LOST OPPORTUNITY

205. WHITE SOX GAIN

206. SOUTH OF THE BORDER

207. EARLY BLACK STARS

208. MICKEY HITS A PAIR

209. THE MAN AND THE DUKE

210. ON THE MOVE

211. ANTONELLI STREAK OVER

212. THREE TEAM RACE

213. INDIANS GAIN

214. NICHOLS AND NUXHALL

215. SWEPT AGAIN

216. TWENTY RUNS

217. DOBY MOVES AHEAD

218. CLOSE GAMES

219. PRIZE ROOKIE

220. ONE GAME TRIP

221. PODRES ROCKED

222. AARON’S NIGHT

223. SNIDER STARS

224. CATCHING UP

225. GREAT PITCHING

226. YANKEES TAKE TWO

227. BRAVES ON FIRE

228. CLASSIC PITCHING DUEL

229. FORD AND FELLER

230. NIGHTMARE LOSS

231. THE HOTTEST TEAM

232. THREE BEST CLUBS

233. SINKING SHIP

234. ROLLING ALONG

235. NINETEEN DOUBLE-HEADERS

236. JIM HEGAN

237. MANTLE—RED SOX KILLER

238. SOX FLOP

239. ONE GAME OUT

240. BREATHING ROOM

241. BRAVES RARE LOSS

242. FEASTING ON THE WEAK

243. BIG THREE WIN AGAIN

244. THREE ACES

245. GIANTS AND DODGERS WIN

246. ROOKIE STOPS BRAVES

247. INDIANS SPLIT

248. YANKS WIN TEN STRAIGHT

249. ONE SHOT SAYS ALL

250. DUKE’S MILESTONES

251. NIXON STOPS YANK STREAK

252. INDIANS AMAZING RECORD

253. RED SOX SWEEP YANKEES

254. TRIPLE PLAY!

255. GIANTS DOUBLE LEAD

256. ENNIS’ EBBETS EXPLOSION

257. THOMSON FOR MATHEWS

258. SAUER HOUR

259. INDIANS’ WYNN

260. CONTENDERS WIN

261. ROOKIE BEATS TRIBE

262. ORIOLES LOSE FOURTEEN STRAIGHT

263. HODGES MOVES UP

264. BASERUNNING BLUNDERS

265. 90 to 86

266. UNBELIEVABLE PITCHING

267. COMING FROM BEHIND

268. BIG KLU

269. BOB’S TOUGH LOSS

270. HUTCHINSON THUMBED

271. CASS MICHAELS BEANED

272. SAME STANDINGS

273. THE RACE TIGHTENS

274. BROOKLYN BASHES BRAVES

275. DUSTY’S SUNDAY PUNCH

276. YANKS RIP SOX

277. LEMON WINS 20

278. ANTONELLI WINS 20

279. BOSTON LOST ‘EM

280. DUSTY DOES IT AGAIN

281. CAMPY AILS

282. NEW RECORDS

283. PEE WEE KICKED OUT

284. CAN’T CATCH CLEVELAND

285. AUGUST RECAP

286. AUGUST AROUND THE MAJORS

287. .BRAVES ARE NOT DEAD

288. YANKS STILL IN BUSINESS

289. BIG SERIES COMING UP

290. A GREAT GAME

291. SPLINTER PASSES CLIPPER

292. THE KNUCKLER GOT AWAY

293. SOX FADE

294. THIRTEEN

295. CRANDALL’S CLUTCH HOMERS

296. AVILA TIES NOREN

297. GILLIAM STARS

298. AARON BREAKS ANKLE

299. BRAVES OVERTAKE DODGERS

300. UNPLEASANT SURPRISE

301. ROBERTS DOES IT AGAIN

302. INDIANS COOK BIRDS

303. YANKS BLOW SEVEN-RUN LEAD

304. WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?

305. HAD IT—BLEW IT

306. BYRNE’S RETURN

307. EARLY WYNN WINS 20

308. INDIANS WIN 100

309. A BAD HOP

310. A FREAK HOME RUN

311. LATE SEASON SPLIT

312. KATT BREAKS RECORD

313. RAINY GAME COUNTS

314. WHITE SOX ELIMINATED

315. BIG BEAR WINS AGAIN

316. DODGERS BACK IN SECOND

317. LOCKMAN SLAMS

318. WHITE SOX SPOILERS

319. INDIANS GETTING CLOSER

320. KLU’S BIG DAY

321. RECORD-BREAKING CROWD

322. NOT SO FAST, GIANTS

323. STILL A THREE-TEAM RACE

324. ANTONELLI SUPERB

325. BROOKLYN WINS 6 STRAIGHT

326. INDIANS AND YANKEES WIN

327. GIL HODGES HITS 40

328. WILHELM AND GRISSOM

329. TIME RUNNING OUT

330. MANTLE KICKED OUT

331. INDIANS NEED ONE MORE

332. YOGI BERRA—RBI MACHINE

333. ROBERTS vs. ANTONELLI

334. A SLOPPY GAME

335. TED WILLIAMS BENCHED

336. INDIANS WIN THE PENNANT

337. TWO INSIDE THE PARK

338. BRAVES ELIMINATED

339. ELEVEN STRAIGHT FOR INDIANS

340. YANKEES WIN 100

341. ONE WIN AWAY

342. SMALL CROWDS

343. A REMARKABLE PITCHER

344. GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT

345. A CLEVELAND PARADE

346. INDIANS TIE 1927 YANKEES

347. ROOKIE WINS 20

348. HOFMAN SLAMS

349. SPOONER’S DEBUT

350. DON, DUKE, AND WILLIE

351. INDIANS BREAK YANKEES RECORD

352. MAYS WINS BATTING TITLE

353. SPOONER SETS A RECORD

354. NEW YORK CELEBRATES

355. AROUND THE MAJORS

356. WORLD SERIES PREVIEW

357. WORLD SERIES GAME ONE

358. WORLD SERIES GAME TWO

359. WORLD SERIES GAME THREE

360. WORLD SERIES GAME FOUR.

361. WORLD SERIES RECAP

362. WILLIE MAYS – MVP

363. THE VOTING FOR MVP

364. YOGI BERRA—MVP

365. THE VOTING FOR MVP

366. ROOKIES OF THE YEAR

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

IN MEMORIAM

Leo Durocher

Sal Maglie

Larry Jansen

Bobby Thomson

Jim Hearn

Ruben Gomez

Hoyt Wilhelm

Marv Grissom

Whitey Lockman

Wes Westrum

Hank Thompson

Dusty Rhodes

Davey Williams

Bobby Hofman

Don Liddle

Ray Katt

Herman Franks

Fred Fitzsimmons

Frank Shellenback

Russ Hodges

Al Corwin

Paul Giel

INTRODUCTION

What was it like for a teenage Giants fan, sitting in the Polo Grounds bleachers in 1954? I sat with the old-timers, some of whom were born before Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth. They saw them all, from Christy Mathewson to Cobb, Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx, and Mel Ott. I listened to them talk and argue about the old days.

The memories of that season are still fresh in my mind. I can recall clipping a headline from the newspaper—Mays Signs 13G Pact. Imagine, the great Willie Mays played for $86 per game! Most of the players had full time jobs during the off-season. Excluding a bonus, Jackie Robinson signed for the minimum salary as a rookie, which amounted to $33 per game. Today, every team has a millionaire player who makes more money in one week than players of 1954 made in a lifetime.

One of the best things about baseball in those days was that most of our heroes stayed with the same team throughout their careers. Pee Wee and Jackie were Dodgers; Joe D, Mickey, Yogi and Whitey were Yankees; Stan the Man was a Cardinal; Ted was with the Red Sox; Hank Aaron, for the first 21 years was a Brave; and Ernie was a Cub. Today, a team can win the World Series, and a few years later, only a handful of players are still with the team. There were only 16 teams then, so not only did we know the players on the team we rooted for, but the players on the other teams as well. It was great to be a kid. My friends and I brought our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and sat in the Ebbets Field bleachers for 60 cents. I’d like to tell you about the games I saw, heard, and read about during that wonderful season—1954.

The Giant teams of the early Fifties were among the best in baseball–ever. Look at the ’51 team, the heart it had, coming from 13 games back to win the pennant. The ’54 team was a tremendous ball club. Everybody was shocked when we swept the Indians in the Series. I wasn’t.

Leo Durocher, Giants’ manager

From The Giants, by Bruce Chadwick and David Spindel, Abbeville Press (1993)

1. BAD BALL

The 1953 season was a frustrating one for the New York Giants and their fans. After the miracle first-place finish in 1951 and a strong second-place finish in 1952, the Polo Grounders fell to fifth place, 35 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Dodgers. Pitching ace Sal Maglie saw his record fall to 8-9 after winning 59 games over the past three seasons. Second starter Larry Jansen had his worst season in seven years with 11 wins and 16 losses. Only two years earlier, Jansen had tied Maglie with 23 wins in leading the Giants into the World Series against the New York Yankees. Now, both right-handers suffered from recurring back pains. It appeared that manager Leo Durocher would soon be fired. At the beginning of 1953, Durocher remarked, This is one of my best clubs. It turned out to be the first time a Durocher-managed team would finish without a 15-game winner. The 1954 pitching staff would be built around Ruben Gomez, a 13-game winner as a rookie in 1953.

Only 4,717 fans attended the final home game in 1953, as the team finished in fifth place with a 38-39 record at home and 70-84 overall. Home attendance dropped from 985,000 to 811,000.

A key factor in the Giants’ failure was the absence of 22-year-old center fielder Willie Mays for the entire 1953 season. The army was set to release Mays in time for the opening of spring training. The club would then have four first-string outfielders—Mays, Monte Irvin, Bobby Thomson and Don Mueller—and would most likely trade one to get a left-handed starting pitcher.

2. THOMSON TRADED

On February 1, the Giants traded the 30-year-old Thomson along with second-string catcher Sam Calderone to the Milwaukee Braves. The Giants got two left-handed pitchers, 24-year-old Johnny Antonelli and 27-year-old Don Liddle, as well as utility catcher Ebba St.Claire, rookie infielder, Billy Klaus, and an undisclosed sum of money. Horace Stoneham, the Giants’ owner, originally requested Warren Spahn, but settled for Antonelli.

Thomson, the hero of the final 1951 playoff game that captured the pennant, was coming off a season in which he batted .288 with 26 home runs and 106 runs batted in. It was the fourth 100-plus-RBI season of his career. It was a perfect trade for the Giants, as he would never reach any of those totals again. The Giants had originally signed the Staten Island resident in 1942 at the age of 18. He was brought up in 1946 after three years in military service. The Braves intended to use him in the cleanup spot, batting after Eddie Mathews.

Leo Durocher remarked, We hated to lose Bobby Thomson, but we had to have some pitching. Stoneham felt terrible about having to trade Thomson. He even wrote Bobby a letter explaining how sorry he was to have to make the deal.

3. A NEW ACE

Antonelli, a $65,000 bonus player, had a 12-12 record with 131 strikeouts for Milwaukee in 1953. He finished among the top five in earned run average with 3.18 runs per game allowed. The Rochester, New York native signed with the Boston Braves in 1948 when he was 18 years old. Because of the signing bonus rule, the Braves had to keep Antonelli on their major league roster. Over the next two seasons, Johnny started 16 games and posted a 5-10 record. The 1951 and 1952 seasons were spent in military service. In 1953, Antonelli made 26 starts, second on the club to Warren Spahn. Jackie Robinson predicted that Antonelli would be one of the best pitchers in the National League within two or three years.

With lefthander Chet Nichols returning from the service to take over as the Braves fourth starting pitcher behind Spahn, Lew Burdette and Gene Conley, Milwaukee brass felt that trading Antonelli’s arm for Thomson’s bat was a good move.

The other lefty acquired by the Giants was Don Liddle. In his first full season with the Braves in 1953, he posted a 7-6 record with a 3.07 earned run average. Durocher planned to use him to start in certain situations and come in from the bullpen as well.

4. SIGNINGS

On February 6, the Giants signed Hoyt Wilhelm, their tireless relief specialist. The knuckleball pitcher had control problems in 1953, walking 77 batters while striking out only 71. His record was 7-8 in 69 appearances, all in relief. It was quite a difference from his rookie year in 1952 when Wilhelm won 15 games and lost 3, and led the National League with a 2.43 earned run average. He lost out to Brooklyn pitcher Joe Black for the Rookie of the Year Award. On the same February day, the Dodgers signed 21-year-old Johnny Podres, who was coming off a 9-4 rookie season. In 1953, the pennant-winning Dodgers had ten pitchers with winning records.

Within a week, pitcher Don Newcombe signed with Brooklyn after a two-year hitch in the army. Big Newk increased his salary from $17,000 to $22,000. The Dodgers were counting on him to regain his 1951 form when he won 20 games. Sal Maglie took a $2,000 cut after his poor 1953 season and signed with the Giants for $28,000. Carl Erskine, the current ace of the Dodger staff, signed a contract for $25,000, up $5,000 from the previous year. Erskine had a great season in 1953, posting 20 wins, including 15 from the beginning of July until the end of the season. Jackie Robinson remained the highest-paid Dodger in history when he inked a contract for close to $45,000 for 1954. The Dodgers were the best-drawing team in the National League on the road, with Robinson as a key gate attraction. Lanky lefty Preacher Roe signed for $26,000, only $1,000 more than Erskine, making him the highest paid pitcher in the club’s history. Over the past three seasons, Roe had gone 44-8.

The Yankees were the best-paid team in baseball. Manager Casey Stengel earned $80,000 plus bonus payments that could give him another twenty grand. He was making twice as much as any of his players and any other manager. The total payroll was over $750,000, after having won the World Series five years in a row and eating into the owner’s profits. Star pitchers Vic Raschi and Allie Reynolds, as well as catcher Yogi Berra, were at the $40,000 level. Eddie Lopat was making $25,000. Frankie Crosetti and Jim Turner, Stengel’s coaches were doing better than those on any other club. On February 23, the Yankees sold the 34-year-old Raschi to the Cardinals for $85,000.

5. A TOUGH BREAK

The Red Sox pennant hopes took a dive when Ted Williams—baseball’s highest-paid player and last man to bat over .400—became the first casualty of the spring. He broke his left collarbone on March 1 in an intra-squad game, trying to catch a sinking fly ball off the bat of teammate Hoot Evers. This occurred only a few minutes after the players had taken the field for the first time. Williams fell and heard something snap. After a shoulder cast was put on that covered the entire upper portion of his body, Ted was told not to lift his arm or swing a bat for the next six weeks. After that, he would still be out of action for at least another month. Williams would not play again until May 15.

The Sox put foam rubber padding on the outfield wall, mainly to protect right fielder Jimmy Piersall. Manager Lou Boudreau said, Piersall plays as though he doesn’t know the fence is there.

6. BACK FROM THE ARMY

From the day Willie Mays arrived at spring training, the whole atmosphere in the Giants’ camp changed. The feeling was that the Giants had a good chance to win the pennant even though the team finished in fifth place, 35 games behind the Dodgers, the year before. Mays quickly got into uniform after getting off a plane at 11 AM, and homered in an intra-squad game in his first plate appearance. The 1951 Rookie of the Year left the Giants in May 1952 with the team in first place. Without his bat and glove, the Polo Grounders finished second. In 1953, with Mays gone for the entire season, the team dropped to fifth. With his uncanny ability to cut doubles and triples down to singles, and his skills at throwing out advancing base runners, Willie was a pitcher’s best friend. Leo Durocher